19.1 miles. Just under 2 hours. I rode almost the entire Leon Creek Trail, but turned around about 4 miles from Loop 1604 because I was beat. It felt good to get back on the bike…it had been about 4 months since I'd been on the trail. Saw the remnants of a brush fire, lots of dry areas that usually have water, and a few very skinny deer that had ventured out in the middle of the day.

Aaaand, it’s back to the “normal” routine. Everyone is now back to work, school, and day care. And while I’m glad that we’re back into some sort of routine, I really am going to miss the relaxed feel of the summer. What I’m not going to miss is the heat. It has been an absolutely brutal summer – probably one of the worst I’ve ever experienced in Texas. It’s been so hard to do anything outside, and I’m looking forward to a break in the heat so that we can start to play outside again while the sun is up.

Rachel, you have finally started kindergarten. You’re so excited to be in school, and I can see your love for learning every day, even if you are doing things you already know. You have already made new friends, and you’re getting the hang of being on your own at school. When you were in ECE, someone walked you into school, took you to lunch and sat with you throughout, and basically held your hand through everything. You have to be a little more independent in kinder, and you’re doing great with it. We had a friend help you out during the first week, but since then, you’ve been taking care of yourself.

You’re also back to taking dance classes, which you really seem to enjoy. Since they’re on Saturday mornings now, I can take you. We’ve added a new piece to the routine of going to dance class, and that is to stop in at Panera before we go. You have fallen in love with their chocolate chip bagels, and Daddy or Mommy gets a little morning pick-me-up.

Emily, you are back at Miss Rosalinda’s and you have become quite the Chatty Cathy. You’re pushing your sentences to four words or more now, and we are getting really good at understanding exactly what you’re telling us. You still speak in that toddler talk that only family members really know, but we know that soon, we’ll be able to stop translating for you.

You seem to have finally warmed up to talking to your grandparents online. Every time you see me taking my laptop back to the bedroom (that’s where we talk to them from), you’ll start chasing after me, asking over and over again, “Nana? Nana? Nana? Nana?”

There isn’t really a lot to say about the rest of this month. We spent most of this month trying to stay cool…so much so, that just about the only pictures I have of both of your are in the kiddie pool or playing in the sprinkler.

It also doesn’t help that I’ve been so completely crazy busy at work that I’m not even writing this until the middle of September, and trying to remember the things you both did 6 weeks ago is really hard. I promise I’ll be better about that in the next few months. As long as things at work slow down a bit.

Your mother and I both love you very much, and we’re looking forward to watching you learn and grow over the course of this school year.